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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Dolphins in the Snow

My boys’ school mascot is a dolphin. Of course it is. What else would it be here in the middle of rural Wisconsin? Anyhoo, I found a very cool dolphin stamp in a small local store this fall and grabbed it, knowing I could find something to do with it for teachers.

I wanted an ornament to tie on the homemade granola we’re giving as teacher gifts this year, and wanted to use that stamp. I think they’re super cool, and my kids love them, of course. The drawback here is that plastic ornaments have WAY too much static cling for the glitter, so I had to use glass. Hopefully they’ll make it to school without breaking. Perhaps I better help deliver them. And, by the way, if a school can have a dolphin mascot and think it's appropriate 2000 miles from the ocean, then I can certainly use it in a Christmas decoration!

To make these, stamp your image using Stazon ink on transparency film. Cut out a circle the same diameter as your ornament, centering your stamped image. Roll the circle into a tight tube and slide it into the neck of the ornament. I used the flattened circle ornaments rather than just spheres. The transparency is a little more stable that way and doesn’t shift around as much. Can you tell I’ve tried way too many times to get these things to work? But it was fun experimenting. I rolled up a paper into a funnel with a very small opening and taped it, then used that to pour some glitter in front and behind the transparency. I used white and blue glitter, since the school colors are blue, gray, and white.

Then I just replaced the ornament cap and tied on a stamped tag, jingle bell, and ribbon using silver elastic cord. I also wrote “2011” using a silver Sharpie, but it’s hard to see in the photo.

The granola recipe we use I found in Rachel Ray’s magazine last Christmas. It received rave reviews from everyone we gifted it to last year, and the kids really liked helping make it.